Stefan and Caroline - Save Me From Myself
by LauraJean1992
Summary: This is my interpretation on last week's episode. How far will Stefan go to get Caroline to turn her humanity back on? Enjoy...
1. Chapter 1

**My interpretation of next week's episode…**

STEFAN'S POV:

"I've found her." I announced to Damon as I walked into the house

"Where is she?" he questioned

"A motel just outside of town." I informed him "So, let's put our plan into action."

"What plan?" Elena inquired as she walked into the room "Do I have to remind you that last time we tried to flip her switch, Caroline went on a killing spree?"

"She's not gonna find out this time." I replied

"How can you be so sure of that?" she questioned "Caroline's already out of control as it is. This could send her over the edge, Stefan."

"Don't you think she's already there?" I asked "And that was my fault. On her own she's a loose cannon, so I'm gonna bring her back."

"Who's to say she's even gonna want to see you again?" she inquired

"Oh, she's gonna want to see him, alright…" Damon chuckled

"Shut up, Damon." I sighed, running my hands over my face "Can we just go?"

"Wait, did you and Caroline…?" Elena began

"Do it?" Damon questioned "Yep."

"Right, okay." she replied "Well I'll leave you two to your plan. Good luck."

"Wait," I proclaimed as she went to leave the room "I actually need to ask you something."

"What?" she asked

"Do you think you could get your hands on some of those herbs that you took to make you see Damon?" I questioned

"And what exactly are you gonna do with them if I do?" she inquired

"I'm gonna torture her until she breaks." I informed her "Don't look at me like that, Elena, it's the only way we're gonna get her back and you know it."

"How're you going to get them into her system though?" she asked

"I'm not gonna let her starve, so I'll crush them into her food." I replied "So, can you get me some or not?"

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Well, well, well, what took you so long?" I asked as I opened the motel door to Stefan

"I was a bit busy trying to be forced into turning my humanity back on." he replied

"Wait, it's still off?" I questioned

He nodded his head… "Damon thought seeing my Mom again would make it all flood back, and it did, for a second, but then I thought of you."

"Sweet," I chuckled "so, where're we headed?"

"I was thinking we could stay in, actually?" he suggested "Drinks, food, just us two."

"Boring!" I proclaimed, faking a yawn "But I guess I've killed enough people for one day."

He smirked at me… "Drink?"

"Vodka. Neat." I replied, throwing myself back onto the sofa

STEFAN'S POV:

I swallowed a lump in my throat as I pulled out the small bottle of vodka I'd had hidden in my pocket that had been mixed with vervain and poured into a glass for Caroline, pulling the other bottle out, pouring it into a glass for myself…

CAROLINE'S POV:

Taking the glass from Stefan as he moved over to me, I downed it in one, setting the glass down on the table, clutching onto my stomach…

"What's wrong?" Stefan asked

"I don't know." I admitted "Where did you get that vodka from?"

"Damon." he informed me "Why?"

"He's spiked it with vervain." I replied

"How can you be so sure?" he questioned

"I just am. Please, Stefan, don't drink yours." I begged

Watching him, he looked at the glass and then downed it in one, swallowing it before setting it down on the table too…

"Why isn't the same happening to you?" I asked

"No idea." he replied "How about I order us some food?"

**Step one of Stefan's plan is complete – what's step two?**


	2. Chapter 2

STEFAN'S POV:

"Where're you going?" Caroline asked as I moved over to the motel room door

"I've just heard the driver pull up," I informed her "I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

"Okay." she replied

Making my way out of the room, I headed down the stairs to meet Damon, thanking him as he handed me two blood bags, one filled with the herbs that had made Elena hallucinate and one free. Instructing me as to which one was which, I said my goodbyes and headed back up to the room, handing Caroline hers, setting mine down on the table…

"Better?" I inquired

She nodded her head… "I think so."

"Good," I replied "keep drinking. It'll help."

CAROLINE'S POV:

As I walked out of the bathroom, I clutched onto the wall as I felt the room start to spin. Looking up, trying to locate Stefan, I couldn't…

"Stefan!" I called "Stefan, where are you? I need you. Something's wrong."

"Are you feeling dizzy? Is the room spinning?" he questioned

"Yeah, what's happening to me?" I inquired

"You're starting to hallucinate," he informed me "thanks to the herbs that were in your blood bag earlier. You're going to want to turn your humanity back on by the end of this, trust me."

"You've lied to me. You've tricked me." I proclaimed

"I've done what I had to do," he replied "just go to the sofa and sit down. Everything will be okay eventually."

I stumbled to the sofa and slumped onto it, trying to keep my eyes open… "Mom."

"What is it, Caroline?" Stefan asked

"I can see my Mom." I replied "She's there, by the door."

"Talk to her. Say what you have to say to her. Get it out." he informed me

"I'm so angry," I admitted "and frightened, and sad. I just want you back. I know it's not possible but it's what I want. Having my humanity off helps ease the pain, but I know it's all going to come flooding back in eventually and I don't think I'll be able to handle it."

"What else?" he questioned

"I'm angry with myself. I should've done more and I shouldn't have fed you my blood because you'd probably still be here." I replied "I don't want to do this alone, Mom."

"You don't have to," he informed me "we're all here. Me, Elena, Bonnie, even Damon. We all want to help you through it."

"I wish I could believe you." I admitted

"Why can't you?" he asked

"Because last time things got too difficult, you ran away." I informed him "What if you do that again? What if I turn it back on and you find things too hard to handle and you bolt again? What will I do then?"

"You'll cope, because you're strong." he replied "You managed last time just fine, but you won't have to cope this time, because I'm not going anywhere. Just come back to us, Caroline. Come back to me."

I swallowed a lump in my throat… "Mom."

"What?" he questioned

"She's gone," I whispered "she's disappeared."

"It's okay." he replied "She'll always be in here."

I felt his hand touch my forehead, reaching up and pushing some hair behind my ear…

"You're always going to have your memories, Caroline." he informed me "They're what you can live with and in, if you'd like. But you need to come back first. You need to grieve."

"And you promise me you'll be there, that you won't leave me?" I questioned

"I promise." he replied

"Okay," I whispered "okay."

STEFAN'S POV:

I took Caroline's hand in mine… "I'm here. Let it in. Let the pain in, let the anger in, let the hurt in."

Turning my head to her, I watched as tears started to pour from her eyes and I tightened my grip on her hand, watching as she opened her eyes…

"It hurts…" she admitted

"I know," I replied "and if there was anything I could do to take away that pain, I would, but I can't, I'm sorry. But I will be here to help you through it."

"Where're you going?" she asked as I let go of her hand and stood up

"To get the bed through there organised," I informed her "so you can sleep."

CAROLINE'S POV:

Stefan left the room and I stood up, moving across the room to the door. Leaning against it, I resisted the urge to run and locked it, turning to see Stefan stood at the other side of the room…

"I listened," he admitted "I'm proud of you."

"Will you stay?" I questioned as I moved across the room to him "With me? Tonight?"

"I'll stay as long as you need me." he informed me "As long as you want me."

I smiled at him weakly and walked through to the bedroom. Sitting down on the end of the bed, I pulled off my shoes and eased myself up the bed, letting my head fall to the pillow beneath me…

STEFAN'S POV:

I moved onto the bed too, settling myself next to Caroline. Turning on her side to face me, her eyes locked with mine. Brushing some hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear, I pressed my lips against her forehead…

**Caroline's back, but that doesn't mean this story's over – how will her "recovery" go?**


	3. Chapter 3

CAROLINE'S POV:

I woke up the next morning and came to, turning my head to see Stefan laid next to me, his arm draped over my waist. Lifting it as gently as I could off of me, I climbed off the bed and pulled my shoes onto my body, making my way out of the motel room…

STEFAN'S POV:

I groaned as I came to the next morning, turning onto my back and stretching, my hand hitting the pillow beside me…

"Caroline?" I called "Caroline?"

Climbing from the bed, I pulled my shoes on and checked the bathroom before making my way out into the living area, finding that she wasn't there either. Grabbing my jacket, I made my way out of the room, grabbing her key card from the table as I went and left the room…

CAROLINE'S POV:

I stood on the Whitmore college campus, staring at all the missing posters that were plastered to a window. As I began to let the tears fall, I felt a hand on my lower back. Bowing my head, I tried to wipe the tears away as discreetly as I could…

"It's okay." Stefan assured me

"How is it? We did this, Stefan. We're responsible for these people never seeing their families again!" I proclaimed "How is it okay?"

"You can't let the guilt eat away at you," he replied "you have to move on."

"How can I move on when they can't? These people, they were innocent victims. They can't move on though, can they? We killed them!" I sighed, running my hands over my face and through my hair "We killed them, Stefan. We're murderers."

"What we need to remember is that it wasn't us, Caroline. Not the us that's back now. It was a part of us we let show that we shouldn't have, but that's how we deal with pain, anger and sadness. We let that part of us show momentarily, even though we know we shouldn't." he informed me

"I'm sorry that I let that side of you show," I admitted "by hurting Sarah. Is she okay?"

"She's fine," he replied "and truth be told, I think I would've joined you anyway, whether you hurt her or not."

"Why?" I questioned

"Because I care about you, because I wouldn't want you going through that sort of pain on your own. You would've needed someone, and it should've been me." he replied

"So what happens now?" I asked

"What do you want to happen?" he inquired

"I want to go back to Mystic Falls and put all of this behind me," I admitted "can we do that?"

"If you're sure you're ready?" he questioned

I swallowed a lump in my throat and nodded my head… "I don't want to go back to the house though."

"You can stay with me," he informed me "for as long as you need."

"And what about us?" I inquired

"What about us?" he asked

"I remember what happened between us when we had our humanity off," I informed him "when do we talk about that and where we go from here?"

"When you're ready." he replied

**Caroline's brought up the fact that they had sex with their humanity off, and wants to talk about it. When will she be ready to?**


	4. Chapter 4

CAROLINE'S POV:

Stefan pulled his car into the driveway of the Salvatore house and switched off the engine as he parked up before turning to me, entwining his hand in mine…

"We can forget this and just carry on driving if you want to?" he suggested

"No," I replied "I need to face Elena and Bonnie and apologise for being a bitch."

"Remember what I said, okay?" he questioned "That wasn't you."

"But I was still a bitch, Stefan," I sighed "that can't be changed."

Unbuckling my seatbelt, I climbed out of the car and made my way up to the front door of the house, inhaling and exhaling a breath before turning the handle and walking inside…

"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in…" Damon chuckled

"Not now, Damon." Stefan replied as he shut the door behind us

"I deserve everything he throws at me," I informed him "c'mon, Damon, let me have it!"

"Ease up on the guilt trip you're giving yourself, blondie. We've all done it." he admitted

"Where's Elena?" I questioned

"She's right here." her voice informed me as she walked into the room "Hi."

"Hi." I mirrored, swallowing a lump in my throat "Can we go for a walk? Talk?"

She nodded her head and grabbed her coat from where it was laid on the back of the sofa. Making her way over to me, she smiled at me weakly and I turned, following her to the front door…

"Are you going to be okay?" Stefan questioned

"I'll be fine." I assured him

"Call me…" he began

"If you need me. Yes, I know." I informed him "And I will. But I'll be fine. I'll see you soon."

Nodding his head in agreement, he shut the door behind me as Elena and I made our way out onto the porch…

"So…" Elena proclaimed as we walked in silence

"I'm sorry." I admitted "I'm sorry for breaking your neck and for being a complete and utter bitch."

"Like Damon said, we've all been there. Me, him, Stefan, and now you." she replied "It's fine, I'm over it. You were hurting and I interfered and got in the way. I should've left you to it."

"It just hurt so much," I informed her "I couldn't bear it, so I did the one thing I could think of that I knew would make it all go away."

"At least you have Stefan. If anyone can get you through this, it's him." she admitted

"It was my fault he turned it off though…" I sighed "I hurt his niece. How can he forgive me for that?"

"Because he knows it wasn't you," she informed me "you wouldn't do it now, would you?"

I shook my head, signalling no… "Just thinking about it makes me feel sick."

"Well there you go then," she replied "he knows that person wasn't you, and he knows the real you well enough to know that you'd never do anything to hurt anyone with your humanity on."

STEFAN'S POV:

Caroline and Elena returned to the house an hour later. Damon had gone hunting, and I stood as the door shut behind them and they walked into the living room…

"I'm gonna leave you two to it." Elena informed us, squeezing Caroline's shoulder before leaving the room

"How did it go?" I asked as Caroline removed her coat and sat down on the sofa

"Good," she replied "everyone forgives me."

"And do you feel better?" I questioned

She nodded her head… "A bit, I suppose. How long does the overwhelming guilt last though?"

"It'll go as you slowly adjust back into a routine," I replied "so, what do you want to do?"

"Food, bath and sleep." she informed me "In that order."

"Good job I've cooked then, isn't it?" I inquired

She nodded her head and smiled at me warmly, both of us walking into the kitchen…

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Stefan, about what happened…" I began as I loaded my crockery into the dishwasher

"Do you really want to talk about that now?" he asked

I nodded my head as I stood up straight and leant against the worktop… "You probably think I regret it but I don't."

"Well that's good then." he replied

I smiled at him warmly… "And if you want to, I'd like to give things between us a proper go. I mean, you've done so much for me since my Mom died, and even if I wanted to let you go, I don't think I could."

"Good job I'm not going anywhere then, isn't it?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow at me

I nodded my head in agreement… "So what do we do now then?"

"If we were in a film, I'd probably kiss you." he admitted "But seeing as though we're not…"

"I think you should kiss me anyway." I informed him

"What if I don't want to kiss you?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow at me

"You really want to play that game?" I inquired

He smirked at me and shook his head, moving across the room to me, his body pressing against mine as he captured my lips in his own…

**Caroline's apologised to Elena and Bonnie and they've forgiven her, but her guilt still seems to very much present. Will that disappear like Stefan said it would? And they've decided to give things a proper shot, wahoo!**


	5. Chapter 5

CAROLINE'S POV:

I woke up the next morning, finding my head resting on Stefan's bare chest and my arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Letting my leg that was tangled with his run up to his knee and back down, I smiled to myself as he groaned and turned his head away from me. Easing myself up onto my forearm, I pressed my lips against his neck, looking up at his face as he murmured…

"Stop…" he whispered as I pressed my lips to his neck again

"Make me." I replied

Gasping, I soon found my body trapped underneath his, his body weight pressed deliciously against mine…

"Morning." he greeted me

"Morning." I mirrored, leaning up, making sure to press my hips against his as I captured his lips in mine

"How're you feeling?" he questioned

"Good." I replied "But that could be something to do with the position we're in right now…"

"It could be, you're right. What do you want to do today?" he asked

"Stay here all day." I informed him "Your bed is insanely comfortable."

He smiled at me warmly and pressed his lips against mine… "Then stay here we shall."

"You didn't take much convincing." I replied

"Did you think I would?" he inquired

"Nope." I admitted, smirking at him as I captured his lips in mine again

STEFAN'S POV:

"Nice to see you've managed to drag yourself out of bed…" Damon greeted me as I walked into the kitchen

"If you've got something to say, just say it." I sighed

"If you and Blondie up there are going to keep going at it whenever you feel like it, can you at least try and keep it down?" he questioned

"Like you did with Elena, you mean?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him as I turned to him

"Touché, brother, touché." he replied "Hasn't Blondie got classes or something?"

I shook my head at him as I turned back to face the worktop and began to organise us breakfast… "If you're feeling uncomfortable, you could always go out for a little while."

"That I just might do." he admitted

CAROLINE'S POV:

"I thought I'd wait until Damon went…" I informed Stefan as I walked into the kitchen

"How did you know he'd leave?" he questioned as he turned to face me

"Call it women's intuition." I replied "And now we've got the place to ourselves…"

"What were you thinking, Forbes?" he inquired

Smirking at him, I lifted myself onto the worktop and reached for the squirty cream that he was going to use on our currently cooking pancakes. Removing the lid, I squirted some onto my neck…

"Food fight, with a twist." I informed him

"I like your thinking." he admitted as he pressed his lips against my skin "I like it a lot."

"Good to know." I replied, moaning softly as his tongue slipped from between his lips to remove any remaining cream "Now it's your turn…"

Handing him the tin of squirty cream, I unbuttoned the shirt of his that I was wearing, revealing my topless form to him and leant back… "Enjoy."

"Oh, I will." he informed me, pressing his lips against mine passionately

**Dirty Stefan and Caroline! I have no idea where this came from, so don't ask… **


	6. Chapter 6

CAROLINE'S POV:

I stood in the kitchen, loading the dishwasher after Stefan and I had finished breakfast when Elena walked in. Setting her cup down on the side, she turned and leant against the worktop, smiling at me warmly as I stood up straight and shut the dishwasher door…

"Hey," she greeted me "how are you?"

"I'm doing okay," I replied "things are getting easier, day-by-day."

"Stefan's helping, right?" she questioned

I nodded… "He's been amazing. Truth is, I wouldn't have been able to get through any of this without him."

"That's the sort of guy he is." she replied "Kind, thoughtful, caring, and he always puts the girl he's seeing before himself."

"Damon told you about us then, I take it?" I inquired

She nodded her head… "Why didn't you?"

"I was going to, but I've had a few other things going on." I informed her "Telling you about Stefan and me wasn't my number one priority, believe it or not."

She smiled at me weakly… "Well do you think you can tear yourself away from him for a night to do girls night with Bonnie and me?"

"We're not joined at the hip, Elena," I sighed "and yes, I can. What were you thinking of doing?"

"Mani-pedi's, facials, reading trashy mags and eating junk food," she replied "it's been ages since we've done that."

"Sounds perfect." I informed her "Here?"

She nodded her head… "Bonnie's parents are having her place renovated."

I nodded my head in understanding… "Well I'm heading out anyway, so I'll get the things we need."

STEFAN'S POV:

"Caroline tells me you, her and Bonnie are doing girls night…" I informed Elena

She nodded her head… "Yeah, we are. Do you think she's up for it?"

"She's okay, Elena," I replied "you just need to treat her normally and not like some fragile little doll."

CAROLINE'S POV:

"Hey," I greeted Elena as I poked my head around hers and Damon's bedroom door "Bonnie's text, she's on her way. We should head downstairs…"

"Okay." she replied "Do you mind giving me a hand with this stuff?"

Making my way into the room, I took a handful of stuff from her and turned, spotting an envelope laid on her dresser with my Mom's handwriting on it…

"What's that?" I questioned, setting the stuff I'd taken from her down on a chair

"What's what?" she asked

"This," I replied, picking the letter up and turning to her "why do you have a letter addressed to me from my Mom?"

"It came to the dorms not long after you turned your humanity off," she informed me "I was going to give it to you when the time was right."

"And you didn't think the time was right when I flipped my switch? This could've been the thing to stop me from doing everything I did, Elena!" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her

"You wouldn't have listened even if I'd have tried." she replied "There was no point."

"And what about when I switched it back on? What about then?" I inquired

"Like I said, I wanted to give it to you when the time was right." she informed me

"Which in your eyes, was when?" I questioned

She swallowed a lump in her throat… "Let's forget about it."

"How can I forget about it?" I asked "Elena, this is the one thing of my Mom's I have left and you weren't going to give it to me."

"I would've done, Caroline, I promise you I would." she replied "In fact, I was going to give it to Stefan to give to you."

"Why didn't you then?" I inquired "Y'know what, forget it."

"What?" she asked

"Forget it all." I replied "Forget girls night, forget about this and forget about our friendship. We're done, Elena."

"Caroline, wait!" she proclaimed as I made my way out of the room, Mom's letter in hand

STEFAN'S POV:

"Hey, Elena," I greeted her as I answered her call "is everything okay?"

"No, not really." she replied "It's Caroline…"

"What's happened?" I questioned

"She's not good, Stefan. She found something I kept from her and I think she could be on the verge of losing it." she informed me "You need to come back."

"I'm on my way." I replied, hurrying out of the bar and back to the house

CAROLINE'S POV:

I stood by the fireplace in the Salvatore living room, surveying the mess I'd made. Looking down at the smashed coffee table, I saw the letter Mom had wrote to me among it's remnants. Picking it up, I pursed my lips together nervously before turning to the fire…

"You'll regret it…" Stefan's voice informed me as I was about to throw it in

"How do you know?" I questioned

"Because I know you," he replied "and I know you want to know what your Mom wanted to say to you, so why don't you open it?"

"Elena kept it from me…" I whispered "Why would she do that, Stefan?"

"Forget about the fact she kept it from you and focus on the fact that you have it and that you can read it." he informed me "Why don't I leave you to it, and you come and find me when you're ready?"

"Can you stay?" I asked as he turned to walk away "I'm scared of what it could say, and I'm scared I might not have the strength to keep my humanity on."

"Okay." he replied

Moving into the room, he lifted the sofa from where I'd tipped it and sat down, me moving over to him to sit down next to him. Wrapping his arm around my shoulder, I glanced at him and he pressed his lips against my temple as I began to open the letter…

_My darling Caroline,_

_I don't know if this letter will get to you before or after I go, but I want you to know some things. Number 1, how proud I am of you and the lady you've become today – your kindness and generosity for other people inspires me. I'm proud to call myself your Mom. Number 2, I need you to know how sorry I am that I'm putting you through all of this, but your courage and grace shines through, even in the darkest of times. Your strength keeps me going and makes me want to fight day after day and finally, number 3, Stefan. That boy loves you, my girl, whether you want to believe it or not. You're his rock, and I know for a fact he'll be yours when the time comes to say goodbye to me. Treasure him and never let him go. Let him take care of you and look after you, just like I know he wants to. Be happy, be kind and love, and be loved in return._

_I love you, Mom. X_

STEFAN'S POV:

Caroline pulled away from me and sat forward, her hands covering her face to hide the fact that she was crying. Sitting forward too, I pulled one of her hands from her face and entwined it with mine, lifting it to my lips, pressing them against her knuckle…

"It's okay." I whispered "Everything's going to be okay."

**Did you think Caroline could've flipped her humanity off again after finding the letter from her Mom that Elena had been keeping from her? Good old Stefan, there to save the day! **


End file.
